This is War
by Teenaged Author
Summary: ...Be prepared for things you never imagined...Be strong, be brave, and I'll see you there. I promise you, Annabeth...I won't let anything happen to you. [This story features many demigods, gods, and mortals. Includes OCs (mortals, villains, etc.) and in later chapters character death, minor and possibly major.] T because I'm paranoid and themes of violence, death, abuse, etc.
1. Prologue

**Hello. Doing it again. I'm so bad...and mean. I mean, seriously? I'm giving you the beginning to a very...suspenseful story. And this is just a taste of what I've been up to as I get back into writing. **

**I'm so, so sorry about this. But here is the beginning of the end...of everything you have ever held dear and normal. Be prepared for what is coming. Cause it's coming fast. I'll explain more at the bottom.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus or the song This is War by 30 Seconds to Mars. Apart from the song, everything goes to Rick Riordan's beautiful world of half-bloods.**

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_**PROLOGUE**_

It had been a long and tedious final battle, like all final battles were. The end had been nearing, and everyone knew it. The fighters, the soldiers, the enemies, the innocent victims. Everyone. The mortals on the streets of bustling Grecian cities could feel that this day was very important, that something life changing was about to happen.

The battle was atop a mountain. The soldiers were clad in bronze and gold armor, and the enemies might have been the size of the mountain they were fighting on. But, slowly, the enemies were dropping to the ground, most dead, some severely injured, too injured to continue fighting. In some places, the battles had stopped completely. The ground was covered in golden dust—the residue left behind from mythical monsters when killed.

The very center of the battle was between three people. The leader wore only a breastplate. He adorned no helmet, no shield-just a breastplate and a sword. His already messy hair was whipped all directions from the strong winds, hair blowing in and out of his green eyes. Those eyes alone could've struck his enemy down, for the anger and frustration and the absolute feeling of broken was enough to drive him in this battle.

He charged at his enemy, knowing he was nearing defeat. He had to do something, and quickly. His comrade wore no armor at all, and his body was protected by a sweltering fire. He quickly followed his leader into battle against their greatest enemy so far. The giant roared with laughter as they charged him, the boy's fires flickering slightly as the winds picked up violently. He dared a glance over to the source of these violent winds and saw his leader being quickly encased in dark storm clouds and water. Lots of churning murky water that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

_To storm or fire, the world must fall._

The words seemed to have echoed across the mountain, down onto the streets of the Grecian cities, carrying across the seas to New York, where another battle lay; waiting for its time to arise. But we shan't get into that just yet.

Atop the mountain, the leader, still encased in his hurricane, attacked his enemy with so much force that the enemy stumbled back, surprised by the amount of power held within such a small form. The other boy's fire had been extinguished and he found trouble trying to light himself again. The wind was too strong, too great, too powerful. He left the fight to his brother-in-arms and focused on rescuing his other comrades, who lay tied together, half dead on a sacrificial pedestal. They were bound and gagged and he worked to cut away the ropes as he glanced back at the battle ensuing behind them.

They knew that, without a god's help, there was no chance of winning. And the gods may be very stubborn, but even they wanted to win this battle, did they not? Their leader prayed hard and fast to every god he could think of, even the ones who loathed his very existence. He prayed for their help, just this once, so that this war could be over. So that the world could be safe.

As his full-force hurricane started to lose power and he knew he only had one strike left within him, he felt extremely blessed to feel new power surge through him, his body glowing with blue-ish green light. The water churned stronger, the earth below them shook violently, and-though they were not aware, atop the mountain-horses across the world became edgy, wanting to run as fast and hard as they could up the mountain to help their master. The water glowed the same blue-ish green as the glow that encased the young man-for 'boy' no longer sufficed for someone like him-and, out of the water, a trident formed and solidified in the young man's other hand.

He smiled as he raised both his weapons, as his enemy's body fell to the earth, as both weapons pierced his enemy's skin and had killed him on impact. He smiled as the battle ceased; the mountain still and quiet. His enemy's armies became frozen in place, and disappeared into the earth. His friends stood, bloodied, bruised, and battered, but still very much alive. The warriors that had died during battle littered the mountain, but they would take care of it soon enough.

Everything seemed cheery, pleasant. The battle was over; they had won the war.

Then they heard the cold, cruel laughter from behind them. Turning, they saw a woman, made completely from dirt, mostly awake but quickly falling back into her slumber. She laughed as she collapsed, melting into the earth. As she disappeared in the dirt, you could hear the sleepily slurred words echo across the mountain top.

"You think you've won, demigods…but it has only just begun," The cold, haunting voice spoke before the woman's dirt eyes closed and you could see her chest rise and fall in a peaceful slumber as she melted into the ground, a cold content smile adorned on her mud-colored face.

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_A warning to the people, the good and the evil, this is war. _

A war was coming. None like any other.

_It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie._

They never expected what was to come, what they were about to face.

_We will fight to the death; to the edge of the earth. It's a brave new world._

Be prepared, World. There's a war coming. And it's on everyone's shoulders. So, I give you my advice and I hope to the gods that you heed it. It's lifting…be prepared for things you've never imagined. Be prepared to fight. Be prepared for war. Because that's what's coming.

This is war. There is no time for mistakes. It'll get you killed. I can only warn you, and pray to the gods that you heed my words.

Signed,

Jaycee Carter

Teenaged Author

**Good luck out there.**

**You're going to need it.**

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**Okay. So. This is a story in which, in Gaea's final moments, she pretty much pushed the reset button for mortals. I've been toying with this idea for a little over a year now and have finally decided to write it down. Things will pick up in the first chapter, don't you worry about that. I've also already uploaded all I had done for this story onto Wattpad if you all really can't wait to find out what's going on. It'll be under JWilliams21. After reaching all the way down to here, the beginning AN probably makes slightly more sense. Slightly. Cause I never make any sense.**

**You probably figured this out, but I'm stalling so much right now. I'm supposed to be doing my online driver's ed stuff that I was supposed to be doing since August...I'm such a procrastinator. It's also the end of spring break and you know what else I was supposed to be doing? Biology project that's due first thing Tuesday morning. Sigh. Catch y'all later...hopefully on another story, eh?**

_**~Teen Author**_


	2. Chapter 1

**This chapter is being posted so soon because I feel like my prologue is way too short compared to the rest of the chapters that you will be seeing. But I have to warn you now, updates for all my stories will be slow going. I'm trying to be a few chapters ahead of what I'm posting. It'll help me in the long run, but it'll be painful. For everyone; not just you, the readers. I'm fairly certain this'll help me get out of my funk.**

**So. Now that that's been settled, here's your next taste at what's to come. Enjoy.**

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_**CHAPTER ONE**_

They arrived home to chaos. The camp was in ruins. Healers were running around like mad to those who were still alive, trying to work their magic. The dead were being solemnly wrapped in their burial shrouds and carried off out of sight. But they would see those shrouds again, at the campfire that night to honor the deceased. The eight exhausted demigods trudged through the camp, and others parted for them, offering them no encouragement, no friendliness, no 'welcome home's. They were exhausted, too, but they were also relived to see the eight of them, alive. Some of the less tired demigods whispered among each other, pointing at the young man leading the eight of them to the Big House, where Chiron sat in his wheelchair, far too tired to be standing on all hooves. There also awaited Reyna, the Praetor of Camp Jupiter. Supposedly she, and a few of her centurions, had stayed behind to attempt to make peace. A gleaming, ominous statue of gold and ivory stood looming over the campers from atop the hill—the Athena Parthenos had made it back to Camp Half-Blood.

Everyone was suspicious of each other. You couldn't really blame them, though. The people who they were just fighting suddenly want to make peace, when they had just been ruthlessly killing their brothers and sisters.

But, Percy Jackson would jump at any chance to create peace between the camps. In his brief time at Camp Jupiter it had not exactly become home, but it had been comforting when he had no memory, because 'camp' was connected to Annabeth. And Annabeth was the most important thing in the world to him, now more than ever. He would never let go of her again.

Chiron had a solemn look on his face, as if he bore bad news. Reyna looked as stoic as always, her metal dogs Aurum and Argentum sitting like statues on either side of her, their ruby eyes glinting coldly. Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the Oracle of Delphi, was nowhere in sight. The eight demigods of the _Argo II _continued on their way till they were on the porch, facing Chiron and Reyna. No one was smiling; no one was crying tears of joy. There was only a grim silence and a curt nod before Chiron and Percy gripped each other's hand.

"It is good to see you, my boy," Chiron told him shortly, his voice flat with barely noticeable underlying relief. Percy kept his mouth shut, but he gave another short, stiff nod, quietly asking if they could take this conversation inside.

While the Seven and Nico entered the Big House, with Reyna right on their heels and Chiron wheeling behind the nine of them, Rachel Elizabeth Dare was in her cave in the hills, in the middle of a fitful dream. She knew, somewhere inside her, the spirit of the Oracle of Delphi was trying to take control, trying to spout another prophecy. Rachel tried to fight it, knowing very well that she wouldn't be able to clearly remember what she said after she said it, wanting to wait until she was awake, and could make sure she had a witness.

So, instead of spouting a prophecy in the middle of her stone room, the spirit was showing her a frightening dream. Rachel supposed this must be what demigod dreams were like; like the ones she had had before the Second Titan War; like the one she was having right now.

She was clearly standing in New York. It could be no other place. But the city was encased in a raging inferno, a battle all around her. Mortal and demigod weapons were strewn across the city, monster dust covering the streets in layers. U.S. Army troops patrolled the streets, chasing down what looked like teenagers, guns drawn, prepped and ready to fire.

There were Greek symbols covering the sides of buildings like graffiti, and there were bodies being pushed into the fires, covered in blood-stained shrouds. Rachel looked all around her. The Empire State Building was being stormed by an angry mob, trying to burn it to the ground. Somehow (Rachel suspected the gods) the flames bounced right off, not causing any damage to the structure. There was a loud gunshot-fired from close by-causing Rachel to spin on her heels to see what was shot. She turned just in time to see the bullet pierce the tanned skin of a blonde girl, wearing an orange t-shirt, shorts, and a leather necklace with clay beads strung on it. Rachel had turned just in time to see the blonde fall to her knees, to see the life drain quickly from her eyes as a tall young man cried out in pain, as if the bullet had pierced his skin instead of hers. Rachel felt the ground shake, as if mourning along with the young man, who was now openly sobbing clutching the blonde to his chest. Rachel noticed how he too was wearing an orange t-shirt and a leather necklace with strange looking clay beads. She noticed how they had identical grey streaks in their hair.

She recognized them. How could she not? She knew the couple very well-everyone did. One soldier broke from his ranks and approached him. Then he spoke, but his voice came out sleepy, like the voice of Gaea.

"_You think you have won, demigods," _The soldier spoke as he suddenly morphed into the dirt clad woman, whose eyes were shut, obviously still sleeping. _"But it has only just begun."_

Then, very ungracefully, the dirt clad woman collapsed, the dirt bursting apart, as if in an explosion. The soldier was back, his gun poised and ready, resting against the side of Percy's head. Percy looked him in the eyes, tears spilling down his cheeks.

"You'll be condemned to the depths of Tartarus for this!" He growled, his eyes glowing in a sea-storm rage. The winds picked up slightly, the earth shaking more violently now, the pegasi in the air that hadn't been shot down flew away quickly. The water from the Hudson and East Rivers churned violently, turning a frothy white color.

Rachel turned as she heard the loud _BANG _echo through the burning streets of what used to be New York City and Percy Jackson fell back on the city's ruined streets, Annabeth Chase still clutched to his chest.

All around the globe, there were people-mere mortals-starting to see things clearer. It started with the already clear-sighted mortals. Their vision enhanced ten-fold, no matter the age. Then, slowly, over the course of a few months, it spread to the non-clear-sighted mortals. They started to see little things. A hellhound here and there, a harpy cleaning windows, a Cyclops lurking in shadowed alleyways.

Camp Half-Blood's first clue had been Sally Jackson-Blofis, a mortal whose clear vision of the real world had started to slip as she had gotten older. When she had woken up, she felt no different, but when she had gone off to lunch with Paul, she had noticed the difference. New York was a hub for monster activity, and she spotted just about every single one of them.

Her first call was the number on the back of the Camp Half-Blood business card.

As Sally Jackson-Blofis was talking to Chiron over the phone, the gods of Olympus had called an emergency meeting. They had even required Hades to be present, despite his banishment from the city. High above the Empire State Building, the gods had felt the disturbance in the air. Something had changed, something very important to keeping their presence a secret from the billions of mortals in the world below. They had asked for the presence of many minor gods, hoping maybe one of them could explain what was going on.

Poseidon sat lazily in his throne, though, despite appearances, he was paying rapt attention to the conversation. He mentally rolled his eyes as his brother Zeus ranted angrily to the goddess Hecate demanding what she had done.

"Brother," Poseidon raised his hand to silence Zeus, "Hecate has not done anything."

Zeus turned to him, accusation in his eyes. "Are you saying you take blame for this then, Poseidon?"

"Of course not! I am simply stating that Hecate is not the one to blame here. She seems to be just as confused as we are, and there is nothing for her to gain by causing such a…disturbance, is there, brother? Hecate wouldn't have done so unless there was."

Hecate sent a slight glare at the Sea God, though she knew what he said was true.

"As much as it pains me to admit," Athena started, "but Poseidon is correct. Hecate wouldn't have destroyed something of such importance without wanting something for herself in return."

Hecate's glare switched from Poseidon to the Wisdom Goddess.

Zeus sighed, clearly frustrated, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "If it's not Hecate, then who? Who else has the power to do something of this magnitude?"

Silence fell over the Olympian Council Room. They all knew the answer, but no one wanted to be the one to suggest it. No one wanted to be the one to state the horribly ugly truth. Because saying it out loud only made it that much more real. Through the silence, the gods and goddesses could swear they still heard that laugh…that cold, cruel, sleepy laugh.

_It has only just begun…_the haunting words of Gaea echoed through the room, in each of their minds.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Zeus declared the meeting adjourned, declaring the matter closed. He didn't want to speak of it. Gaea was asleep, and wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. There was no reason to worry.

To any sane person, they would know Zeus was making a grave mistake. But Zeus isn't exactly sane, now, is he?

_**THREE MONTHS LATER**_

In the city streets below Olympus, the mortals grew agitated and scared. Many had gone to see therapists, but nothing seemed to be helping. Paul Blofis had many kids in his class who had suddenly become very quiet and reserved, with bags under their eyes from lack of sleep. Most of the girls had tried to cover them up, but the makeup failed to help. Paul had, in fact, decided to start a new course in his English class, going full on Greek, hoping to help them.

But his plans only backfired. The mortal children in his class only had continuous nightmares, ones where monsters like the Minotaur and the Furies chased them, eating them whole, swallowing them alive. Paul tried his best to stress the fact that there were heroes—demigods or half-bloods—out there protecting the mortals in the stories from monsters. Of course, now his students' nightmares included heroes trying and failing to protect them, leaving them vulnerable to the monsters that started to haunt not only their dreams, but their lives while awake too. The only student in Paul's class who didn't seem so…terrified, was Paul's stepson, Percy Jackson.

Percy Jackson was, for lack of a better word, different. His eyes were the oddest and most unique shade of green that you could find, constantly changing with his mood. Most of the time they were a bright sea-green—or at least, they used to. Now, though, after he had returned from Greece, his eyes were darker, like a forever raging storm out on the ocean, as if he'd seen something so terrible he'd never be happy again. The only person that could make him remotely happy was his girlfriend Annabeth Chase, and occasionally his mother. Most nights, Annabeth would show up in the middle of the night and sleep in the same room as Percy.

Percy's body was also littered in scars of various sizes and shades. There were long, white scars that came from swords. There were a few darker spots, like burns possibly. There was one on the small of his back, where he used to have his Achilles Heel.

Then there was the streak of gray in his hair that had, over the years, started to be overlooked and fade. But after he had returned from his trip, it had become clearer, brighter, almost glowing even. Most thought it was just some odd fad, but there was only one other person that Paul knew who had the same streak of gray in their hair, and that was Annabeth Chase.

So, to say the least and for lack of a better word, Percy Jackson was different. Paul sighed as he looked over his class. He made eye contact with Percy for a brief second before continuing to teach, frowning in concern for his students. Some looked as though they might die of fright, while others were trying to suck it up and act as though nothing was bothering them, when in truth they hadn't slept for days.

Turning back to the board, he sighed. "Now, the Sea of Monsters…"

_**BACK ON OLYMPUS**_

"We must do something!" Athena insisted. Zeus glowered at her.

"I have already told you, Athena! The matter is closed!" He thundered as he stormed through the city. The streets of Olympus were abandoned and quiet. Occasionally you could catch a minor god or goddess peeking their head out their window, trying to see what was going on.

"And you'll be making the same mistake as you had during the Second Titan War! Do you really want to risk our children's lives again?"

"Their lives are already at risk! They're always at risk!"

Athena glared at her father. "Father, I must insist that we do something! The Mist is gone, and it won't be long before the mortals notice our presence above the Empire State Building!"

"Athena, I hope you are not suggesting what I think you are," Zeus glared back at her. Athena gave her father a look, one he understood very clearly but chose to ignore it. "I will not!"

"If you won't, then I will," Athena threatened. Zeus glared at her again before storming back to his palace to think over this matter.

_**CAMP HALF-BLOOD **_

_**THAT SUMMER (Six Months after the War)**_

Chiron trotted through camp, quickly alerting all the cabins of an emergency meeting of the utmost importance. Percy struggled out of his bed and looked at the clock sleepily. It was three thirty-seven in the morning. Percy groaned as he slipped an orange Camp T-shirt over his head and pulled on some sweat pants. He trudged across the wet, dew-covered grass barefoot, quickly joined by Annabeth and Leo, who seemed to be the only two campers wide awake.

"Come on, Seaweed Brain. Wake up!" Annabeth teased, though her eyes revealed that she too was still very, very tired and would fall asleep extremely fast, as soon as her head hit a pillow. Leo looked as though he were high on double-espresso jelly beans.

"Yeah, wakey wakey, Sleeping Beauty!" Leo smiled his impish smile. Percy groaned and slapped Leo upside the head. "Ow! How come you didn't slap Annabeth?"

Percy glared at Leo while Annabeth laughed quietly. "Percy's not a morning person, Metal Head. Plus, he knows that I hit back." Percy scowled as he subconsciously rubbed his bicep, where there was a nice sized bruise that was beginning to heal.

Once all the Cabin Counselors were seated inside the Big House, Chiron wheeled to the front of the Ping-Pong table. Usually, someone would be feeding the leopard head, but right now it was snoozing away.

"What's the meaning of this Chiron?" Percy asked sleepily, looking as though he was in dire need of caffeine. Annabeth slid her coffee to him, which he accepted gratefully.

Chiron looked at each of them individually—and there were a lot of them—and sighed. "There is a terrible problem at hand."

"More terrible than the Romans trying to kill us?" Connor Stoll, son of Hermes, muttered, slightly irked. His brother, Travis Stoll, was back in their cabin, snoozing away. Travis didn't want to go, neither did Connor, so they ended up playing Rock, Paper, Scissors for it. Needless to say, Connor lost. Lou Ellen, daughter of Hecate who sat next to Connor rolled her eyes slightly before closing them again, yawning.

Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite, rolled her eyes as well. Politely, she said, "Continue, Chiron."

"It's about the Mist—" Chiron started before he was interrupted by Will Solace.

"What about it?" Will asked.

"It seems to have, how should I say, disappeared," Chiron stated somberly. "Our protective enchantments around the camp and New Athens will no longer work on mortals, if they know what they're looking for."

This seemed to wake all the demigods up, even the counselor for the Hypnos Cabin, which was a very rare feat indeed. Everyone started talking at once.

"How is this possible?!"

"Who could've done something like this?!"

"What're we going to do?"

"This is terrible!"

"What're we going to tell the rest of the camp?"

"Chiron, what do we do?"

"SILENCE!" Chiron hardly yelled, so naturally all the demigods shut up and turned their attention to Chiron. "The gods have come to a decision already on the matter." The demigods were silent, waiting to hear their parents' verdict. Chiron drew in a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Under Athena's insistence, Zeus has decided that it is in the world's best interest to go ahead and reveal their presence to the world. They will be broadcasting live to the world at noon today, and they wish to have each of you present."

_**NOON THAT DAY**_

_**NEW YORK**_

There may have been a lot of people living in or visiting New York, but no one missed the Iris Message that appeared everywhere. There was a giant one in the sky, huge ones against buildings, and individual ones for each person inside their apartments or homes. The voice coming from the IM shook the very foundations of buildings, catching everyone's attention when he started speaking. Cars stopped in the middle of streets, drivers and passengers alike stepping out of their cars, staring up to the sky or to the buildings that surrounded them. All the power in the city seemed to simultaneously turn off, so that the only thing they could do was watch this man, and listen to his words.

They saw a man, with a black and gray striped beard, like a storm cloud, wearing a pin-striped business suit. His eyes sparked like lightning.

"Mortals!" His voice boomed like thunder. Some of the people on the streets noticed the mini-thunder storm that had formed over the Empire State Building that thundered and struck lightning with every word this mystery man spoke. "You may have noticed you've been seeing things…unimaginable, lately."

Some of the people on the ground shifted from foot to foot, completely nervous and uncomfortable with the fact that this stranger knew they were seeing things. Others were completely enchanted by his words and sudden appearance that they nodded along, glad to know that they weren't crazy.

"You may think you are crazy, or seeing things. But I can assure that you are not. What you are seeing is completely real, just as I am. You are seeing Greek legends coming to life. You may now be wondering who I am. I am Zeus, King of the Gods!"

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**Leave questions, comments, concerns, general opinions in a review. Questions will be answered as soon as possible, either in a PM or in the AN of the next chapter.**

**And on that note, I bid you adieu. **

**_~Teen Author_**


	3. Chapter 2

**_CHAPTER TWO_**

Many campers refused to leave the borders of Camp Half-Blood. Ever since the announcement to the mortal world only days before, there had been global uproar. Christians, Muslims, and all sorts of other religions and their followers had argued furiously and had starred in interviews on television many times to complain and try and argue the existence of other gods. Most mortals were in denial but the monsters they saw daily battled any doubt they possessed persistently.

However, the whole of Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter agreed that the head counselors had it the worst. They had to go live right along with the gods, broadcasting to the whole world. There was no where they'd be able to go without being recognized. They had become celebrities among the mortals on a very controversial topic.

Demigods started being picked out easier. Anyone who had dyslexia and/or ADHD was being questioned and background checked. The military was nervous. Anyone who knew the Greek legends were nervous. Many argued demigods could be dangerous. A danger to children, to the environment, to animals. You name it and people have claimed demigods were dangerous to it. The President was being urged to act against these demigods.

Mr. President did not, however, wish to outright attack these creatures, these _demigods_, without meeting and talking to one himself. He talked to parents who supposedly had children who were part of this group of demigods. His daughter had somehow managed to have recorded the Iris Message of Zeus and the President watched it over and over. He studied the faces of the demigods that appeared and explained and helped try to ease the transition into the mythological. Mr. President leaned forward in his leather chair, hands folded atop his mahogany desk. There was one hero he kept going back to—a young man with windswept dark hair and startlingly powerful green eyes. Something about this particular hero—possibly the way he held himself, or maybe it was the way he spoke—that set him apart from his friends. The President easily distinguished him as the leader amongst this gang.

For a gang was all the President felt these demigods were. Just a mutant gang running rampant in the shadows of the country, where none could be seen. He started the message again.

_"I know you're scared," _the young man's voice rang with authority. The type of authority that commanded armies and eyes that had seen battle. _"I know that you just want it all to go away, to be some crazy dream, but it's not. Trust me, the sooner you accept that, the sooner it'll be easier to live with it. The world is dangerous and it is terrifying but there are heroes who can and will protect you. We will do anything to make sure you are safe."_

Mr. President paused the video again, studying the look in the young man's eyes. Determination, no fear, dangerous, vicious, wolf-like. Mr. President knew, without a doubt, this was the person he needed to speak to. Out of all these demigods, this was the one he needed to talk to if he was to get the results he and his Cabinet wanted. There was unpredictability in his eyes—something Mr. President planned to take full advantage of. He pressed play.

_"My name is Percy Jackson, and I'm here to protect you."_

Mr. President scowled. "Like hell you are."

Will Solace cautiously walked up Half-Blood hill. The head counselors had come to a consensus that someone would need to be on border patrol. A sentry to warn the rest of the campers if mortals were coming. They didn't want to look like they were preparing for war. Not yet, at least. Will looked out at the road as he knelt down next to Peleus the dragon. Empty, thank the gods.

Will pet Peleus on top the head as the dragon puffed smoke signals out his nostrils. The Golden Fleece glittered in the branches of Thalia's Tree above his head. He sat down on the grass and leaned against the trunk of the pine. Keeping one eye on the road, he turned to Peleus.

"You know, maybe this won't be as bad as we all think it's going to be," Will told the dragon. "Maybe we're all just paranoid after the battle with the Romans and the Giants and Gaea. I'm sure things will be fine."

Peleus may have been a dragon, and he may or may not have understood anything Will had just said, but Peleus was pretty certain Will was faking his optimism. Will was pretty certain that Peleus had rolled his eyes at him. Will snorted and for the rest of the peaceful day, he talked to the dragon and kept one eye on the road. Though maybe he should've kept both eyes on the road because with only one, he hadn't noticed the black SUV parked farther down the road, slightly obscured by a few bushes and overgrown grasses, with a person in the driver's seat. The person held a camera and took pictures of Will and the dragon, took note of this location, and radioed Mr. President the whereabouts of what he believed may be the HQ for demigods.

**_11:30 AM THE DAY THE GODS REVEAL THEMSELVES_**

**_CAMP JUPITER_**

Reyna had returned to Camp Jupiter, alongside Jason Grace and his best friend Leo Valdez. Jason's girlfriend Piper McLean had stayed behind at Camp Half-Blood to help with their Camp Jupiter-inspired city of New Athens. Piper was also the head counselor of the Aphrodite cabin and had responsibilities she couldn't abandon to Drew Tanaka who would charmspeak her cabin into letting her be head counselor again if Piper was away long enough. Leo Valdez, who had a trustworthy second-in-command, had traveled with them too study with Camp Jupiter's children and legacies of Vulcan in hopes of picking up a few tricks. Leo, of course, had other motives for coming. Reyna, for instance, was one of them.

Leo Valdez had a horrible problem of falling for girls that were way out of his league. There was one miraculous moment when Leo had met a girl who had started to reciprocate his feelings, but she had been a goddess—Calypso, to be specific. And all her heroes left her, but Leo had been the one to promise to return for her, a promise he intended to keep. After the Second Giant War, the gods had offered each of the Seven a gift. Leo's wish for Calypso to be set free seemed to surprise the gods and aroused a sad smile from the goddess of love. Zeus had agreed—he had said he would grant anything after all—but Leo had yet to see head or tail of Calypso. Leo was hoping Reyna would be able to help him locate her or at least give him an idea of where to start looking.

Jason Grace, of course, thought that when Leo said he was coming along because of Reyna, he assumed his best friend meant that Leo had a crush on Reyna. Jason hadn't linked Reyna to Leo's want to find Calypso, though in his defense he couldn't really see any way to link the two at all. Because of Jason's assumption, he wasn't all that surprised to find Leo trailing after Reyna later that day as he headed for the tunnel that led to the mortal world outside. Jason had received word from his father Jupiter in the form of Zeus to meet with him outside the tunnel. Jason had no idea why. He was told to bring a centurion with him so he arranged to meet Frank just inside the tunnel. He didn't understand why he had to go outside the tunnel to meet with his father and Frank was just as confused to his summons as Jason was to his.

Then he saw his father, angry and impatient, with his black and grey beard and pin-striped suit. He glowered at Jason and Frank while motioning the two forward. Frank had to fight the urge to bow down before the King of the Gods because of all the mortals driving by. The two guards by the entrance of the tunnel were sent just inside it and told they would know when they could come out again. Jason was extremely confused as to what was going on, and flashing to Olympus with his father did not help his situation.

Feeling woozy and lightheaded, both boys took a knee on the hard floor in front of the throne of Zeus. Zeus, growing from the size of a mortal man to thirty feet tall as he walked to his throne, sat down and glared at the occupants of the room. Distantly, Jason and Frank heard the ding of an elevator and loud talking. Jason recognized most of the voices, seeing as he had spent his summer with them, but Frank managed to only pick out two or three.

"Is that—" Frank started and Jason nodded mutely. Frank shut his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to make the room stop spinning. The door to the throne room was thrown open and in stepped a large ensemble of Greek demigods. Even though the Greeks and Romans were no longer enemies, Frank felt outnumbered. In the lead of the group of demigods stood two people whom Jason and Frank recognized immediately. Percy and Annabeth managed a smile, though their eyes told Jason and Frank something serious had happened. Piper popped out from behind the two and, despite the current situation, smiled brilliantly when she saw Jason standing in the throne room. Jason, albeit still confused and dizzy, smiled back at his girlfriend.

Percy Jackson, however, seemed to know exactly what was going on. Jason, long since over his small flame of jealousy, couldn't help but feel a little irked at the fact that the gods had told the Greeks what was going on and only picked up Jason and Frank without an explanation. Zeus stared down at Percy distastefully before welcoming him back to Olympus. Zeus had already expressed his gratitude to the boy more times than he'd like and planned on not having to thank him (or any hero that was not his own for that matter) anymore for a long time. Athena sat with a stoic expression, unreadable, much like Reyna, Jason thought. Jason half-expected Athena to glare down at Percy like Zeus, but still wasn't at all surprised to see the Wisdom Goddess look upon the hero without any emotion. Percy stared back into the eyes of Athena just us unreadable, the barest traces of a nod of greeting, before turning to Zeus.

"Zeus," Percy's voice remained flat.

"I'm told you are aware of the situation," The question sounded more like a statement. Percy nodded mutely and Jason looked between the two. Frank was trying to stand, but was still rather dizzy. He turned to Percy for an explanation as to what was going on. "Good. I must make arrangements with Iris. Dionysus, I expect you to make sure that your campers look presentable by the time I return."

The demigods averted their eyes as Zeus flashed out with a clap of thunder echoing in the throne room. All the Olympians were present and sitting in their thrones, staring at the demigods. Jason had never felt so small. He managed to stand and made his way over to Piper and asked the only question he and Frank needed answered. "What's going on here?"

**_THREE DAYS AFTER THE REVEAL_**

**_WASHINGTON, D.C._**

Mr. President smiled into the receiver of the telephone. He turned to look at his Head of National Security. "Didn't I tell you they'd find it?"

Yvonne Reeder scowled and put both palms flat on the President's desk and looked him in the eyes. "But, Mr. President, how did he know exactly where to look?"

Mr. President eyed Yvonne. His eyes flicked to the phone he'd just been talking into. The seeds of suspicion were planted and were rapidly growing. The phone rang again and he reached for it, glancing nervously at Yvonne before answering.

"Yes?" He started, trying to act calm.

_"This is Noah Keeling. I've been based in California. Mr. President, I believe you'll be interested in what I've found."_

He raised an eyebrow at Yvonne and returned his attention to the conversation at hand. "Go on."

_"I had only been driving by when I saw them. And according to a few sources, three days ago exactly a half hour before the broadcast, lightning struck."_

"And why, Mr. Keeling, would I be interested in a lightning strike?" Mr. President resisted a groan as he pinched the bridge of his nose Yvonne had removed her hands from the President's desk but remained where she stood, posture stiff.

_"Because, Mr. President Sir, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky." _This had grabbed the President's attention. _"Two boys around the age of sixteen and a man in a blue pin-striped suit were believed to be standing right where the lightning struck. But after the flash, the three were gone and there is absolutely no evidence at all that lightning had even touched the ground."_

"Where did you say you were again, Mr. Keeling?" Mr. President inquired, biting down his anger with Yvonne. How dare that woman try and instill uncertainty and doubt about his men into him! He glared at her from his chair as Noah Keeling gave his coordinates. "Thank you. Stay there and watch that tunnel."

Yvonne Reeder stared at the President of the United States, waiting for him to readdress her. When he didn't and just kept looking at her, she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Well?" She implored.

Mr. President sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Pack your bags, Miss Reeder. We're heading for California."

Lawrence Morrow stepped out of his black SUV and made sure the rest of the road was clear before headed for Half-Blood hill. Will Solace had just gotten up and left the border for the night and Malcolm had replaced him. Lawrence felt much safer walking up the hill with a son of Athena sitting up there rather than a son of Apollo. Lawrence approached cautiously, making sure he had left his gun and his Taser back in the car. Malcolm looked up as he approached, shock clearly etched on his face. He glanced over his shoulder, as if making sure no one was watching.

"Lawrence?" Malcolm sounded unsure of himself. Lawrence nodded and Malcolm relaxed. "Larry, what're you doing here? I thought you high-tailed it to the mortal world."

Lawrence nodded again. "I did. Went to college. Got a job. What the hell happened to the Mist, Malcolm?" Malcolm looked nervous again. "Well, whatever happened, it's obviously not here anymore. The President of the United States has sent all his best agents out looking for demigods and their headquarters and he wants—"

"Is that what you do? Work for the government? Wait, did you already rat us out?" Malcolm sounded furious and hurt at the realization.

"I didn't know I was being tailed. Head of National Security isn't exactly a fan of mine. Her guy would've already called in. Listen, the President wants to speak with Percy Jackson. Understand? He wants—" A shot rang through the evening air and Lawrence collapsed where he stood, face first into the grass, dark red blood pooling around Larry's head. Malcolm's eyes widened and he ran down the hill into the safety of Camp.

Hopefully, despite the Mist no longer able to conceal the Camp, the magical borders that prevented entry still worked. But no other shots were heard. No one came up the hill looking for demigods.

_**A/N:**_

_**I'm very sorry for not updating anything for a while...a long while...I've just been very focused with other things. Other short stories, school, Drama Club, an annoying younger brother, etc. I really want to try and write and update more often but I can only do so much with so little time. **_

_**Leave a comment or question in a review and I'll try to get back to you via PM unless you are a guest reviewer, in which case I would have to try and get back to you in the next A/N. Constructive criticism is thanked and flames are accepted but not appreciated.**_

_**~Teen Author**_


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